Icelandic Food Blogsite

I hope that all of you had a safe and fun Yule, Christmas and New Year! My New Years Resolution this year is to write more on this blog and possibly have more than one reader. Wish me luck! It continues to astound me how little people really know about Scandinavian and Viking food. There is a misconception that Scandinavian and Viking food is a step above a "Fear Factor Prop Table" and that everything is washed down with either coffee or booze. Yes, there are the infamous lutfisk, Icelandic skyrhákarl (rotten shark), pickled and marinated herring, fried herring, and fish. Fish is a major part of any Scandinavian and Viking dish, you wouldn't expect anything less from a seafaring culture? Pickling and salt curing was and is a common practice for food preservation. Scandinavian and Viking food does have other dishes that are very recognizable and taste good, including Swedish meatballs (actually a newer addition introduced in the 17th Century) lamb, elk, reindeer, and ham. Most people are shocked that Scandinavian food has a wide variety of vegetables and fruits included into the meals. My Grandmother used to joke that it was a genetic disposition to have a sweet tooth. Scandinavians love their coffee cakes and deserts. I would like to introduce to you a favorite site that I have used over the years for recipes, especially for anything Viking. I stumbled onto her website about 4 years ago searching for the recipes for Syr. I had acquired a craving for it while pregnant with my son in Iceland and couldn't find it here in the states. Jo is also real nice and will also answer any questions you have regarding food, Icelandic culture, history et al. She had a website and now has switched over to a blogsite, which she updates. (drum roll please......)

http://www.simnet.is/gullis/jo/index.htm (Her original website)

http://icecook.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&max-results=3 (Her new blog site)